


The Adventures of Ladybugs and Black Cats

by rosebud1000



Series: Miraculous Drabbles and One-shots [11]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-02-23 14:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23279410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosebud1000/pseuds/rosebud1000
Summary: A series of drabbles about the holders before Marinette and Adrien.Ch 1 is Greek Gods, Ch 4 is Hamilton, Ch 5 is Jeanne d'Arc
Series: Miraculous Drabbles and One-shots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659745
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	1. Tyche & Nemesis

**Author's Note:**

> I have way too many ideas for more of these.

There was a centaur ten feet away, about to charge at Tyche. She stared it down-- never a good idea, it seemed to irritate them-- but she didn’t care. She always had a plan of some kind. Not that she had one at the moment. She was going to need a bit of help with this.

“Lucky charm!” An arrowhead fell into her palm.

She was quick making an arrow, and quicker wrapping her yoyo string around a stick to form a bow. She’d brought her other weapons with her, of course, they’d just met an unfortunate doom earlier that day.

“I coulda taken care of that, you know,” Artemis remarked, stepping out of the woods to inspect Tyche’s kill.

“Well, you were a little late.” Tyche still hadn’t gotten used to Artemis’ new holder, who was clearly just learning how to be a goddess. The outfit (not to mention the personality) had changed strikingly.

Smirking just behind her, Apollo appeared, holding his signature lyre. If Artemis’ new holder was a lot, Apollo’s was more. From the way they acted, Tyche suspected they were actual siblings, and she pitied Artemis for having to put up with him. A soft beep told her one of her dots had just disappeared.

“Better run off before we know who you are, huh?” Apollo teased, reaching out to try and touch her earring. She ducked away, unwinding the stick from her yoyo. Using the Miraculous Cure would be silly, all it’d do was resurrect the angry centaur, and that was not her goal.

A large portal opened, the air glimmering. Hermes tumbled out, followed by Nemesis.

“Stop messing with her,” Nemesis said, holding out her hand in warning. With just a word, she could activate the destructive power in her ring.

“Thanks, but really. I can handle myself.”

“I know. But we have somewhere to be, and soon.”

“Are the three fighting again?” Tyche asked. Why the first Guardian decided to give a triple-holder to the Dragon she’s never understood. All it’d done was create a lot of petty wars and bickering. Although it did provide a good cover, allowing everyone to believe it was the most powerful miraculous. Tyche and Nemesis slipped by unnoticed most of the time as a result, overshadowed by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.

Hermes, who didn't have a timer, opened a second portal for the sisters. They thanked him and stepped through, ready to resolve whatever fight the gods had gotten into this time. Honestly. She’d been Tyche for only three years, and she’d already had to fix the Dragon miraculous five times. Throwing it into Nemesis’ cataclysm out of spite was like a game to them.

And fixing the miraculous took a lot out of her. She’d been found at the edge of a village, passed out, the first time. She often couldn’t transform into the goddess of luck for days after. She was just glad she had Nemesis with her.

The portal landed them in a field, and though she couldn’t see it, Tyche could smell saltwater in the air. She breathed in deeply, feeling sorry for whatever farmer who owned this land. If they were gearing up for another Dragon fight, he was going to have a very stressful night. He wouldn’t be expecting the Cure, and likely think the destruction was entirely Nemesis’ doing.

“It’s not quite a fight,” Nemesis admitted, her mischievous grin half-hidden by the long shadows of the evening.

“It’s not?” Tyche looked behind them; Hermes had already left. Her earring beeped again, and she let her transformation drop. They’d known each other’s identities from the start, when the previous goddesses had approached them both, offering the sisters their miraculous.

Nemesis produced a box from one of her magically bottomless pockets, setting it on the grass between them. “I know you don’t agree, but--”

“Absolutely not.”

“It would be nice to have the help.”

“Didn’t your predecessor tell you what happened the last time that miraculous was used?”

“That was over a century ago!”

Tyche stared at the peafowl brooch, sitting harmlessly in the box. She didn’t want to remove it, too scared by the story the last Tyche had told her. But the last time she’d seen Proteus, the butterfly’s holder, he’d been lonely and sad. Two things that made for the beginning of the stories non-holders liked so much. She sighed. As much as she’d been holding this off, she’d have to give in eventually.

“Alright,” she conceded.

“Alright?”

“Well, a second self-driving giant wooden horse seems unlikely, and this Artemis doesn’t seem like the type to mess with things too much. And Proteus needs a friend.”

Nemesis smiled. “I have someone in mind.”

“Really?” Tyche feigned astonishment. “You mean you’ve been bothering me about this for two months and you hadn’t already picked a holder?”

“I know, I know,” Nemesis laughed. “C’mon, you better feed Tikki before Hermes gets back, he would certainly have something to say about your identity.”

“Gods, I think he’d implode. His daughter’s not supposed to be a holder, y’know?”

“That makes two of us.”


	2. Ruby & Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The miraculous holders in feudal Europe.

* * *

“You’re insane,” were the first words out of Ruby’s mouth when Haven reunited with her after the fight.

“But you love me,” Haven replied, helping Ruby up from the ground.

In response, Ruby leaned in for a kiss. Haven tangled her hands in her girlfriend’s hair, pulling her deeper in.

Ruby broke it abruptly, staring up at her. “Really, though. That scared me.”

Haven shrugged. “The cure will fix everything anyways.” Her hands were still buried in the soft curls of Ruby’s hair. She removed them delicately, careful not to snag the curls on her claws. The back of her hand brushed against one of Ruby’s antennae, and Haven was transfixed by the shiver that ran down her girlfriend’s body. She could not get enough of that girl.

“Haven,” Ruby said, ignoring the touch in favor of more scolding. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“It’s kind of my job.”

“Maybe it shouldn’t be. What if we swapped?”

“Swapped?”

Ruby nodded. From the look on her face, it was clear this plan had been brewing a while.

“No way,” Haven said. “That’s a bad idea. Besides, what name would you come up with? Silver?”

“Hey! I thought they were ruby earrings, you asked me what my name was, and I panicked! How is Haven any better anyway? That has nothing to do with cats! At least Ruby is the color of a ladybug.”

Haven smiled a bit, always amused by how easily distracted Ruby was when they weren't in battle.

“You changed the topic, didn’t you?” Ruby asked.

“You know it.”

“I’m not kidding, I want to see how we’d do with each other’s powers.”

“Yeah, like you wouldn’t cataclysm the first noble you saw.”

Ruby looked away, unable to argue with that. She had a big family and had seen more suffering than Haven at the hands of the broken feudal system.

Haven put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “You’re a great ladybug, okay? But there’s a reason we each have the miraculous we do. I wouldn’t be any better at using yours than you’d be with mine.”

Ruby sighed, pulling Haven into a hug. For all the bad luck her miraculous gives her, having Ruby made up for it all. She didn’t know if they’d ever reveal their identities. It was selfish, but she hoped not. They’d made it work for this long, what’s the rest of their lives? Because when Haven said she was worried about Ruby cataclysming the first noble she saw, a part of her wondered if Haven would be the first noble she saw.

“I don’t want my parents missing me too long,” Ruby said, stepping out of the embrace. “I love you, Have.”

“I love you too, Ru-bug.”


	3. One of the Greatest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg's new holder freaks out about being a superhero. Plagg does his best to comfort her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read something a while ago mentioning the idea that Plagg's holders are often afraid of him because "being of destruction" and all that, and it stuck with me. So here's my little contribution to that headcanon.

“I can’t do it.”

Plagg watched the girl, his newest holder, curled in her bed, crying. It was dark in her room, the single lightbulb shut off. He didn’t know how to deal with tears. That was Tikki’s realm. But she wasn’t there, and so he was stuck with a crying holder.

“Look at me, I’m scared of thunder. I can’t be a superhero.” As if to prove her point, the sky lit, followed by a loud rumble. The human-shaped lump shook with a sob.

“It’s… it’s okay…” Plagg said. He floated over to her head, hovering just above her pillow. He didn’t even know the girl, much less know how to  _ comfort _ her.

“No, it’s not.” She lifted her face away from her pillow, covering it with her hands.

“Yes, it is,” Plagg insisted. He was bad at this. Arguing was no way to comfort someone. What was it Tikki told him? Humans were comforted by touch and eye contact. Glancing at her hands still on her face, eye contact wasn’t going to work. Carefully, Plagg neared her, touching a paw to the back of her hand.

“Look at me! I’m not brave at all.”

“Yes, you are!” Plagg placed a second paw on her. “You’re letting me touch you, for one.”

“So?”

“I’m the kwami of destruction. I’ve had holders who were so afraid of me…” Even though she wasn’t looking at him, Plagg averted his gaze. When he had a good holder, he didn’t like thinking about the bad ones. And this girl was going to be an amazing holder. “And you’re not afraid. You are not afraid of the literal god of destruction. That’s gotta count for something.”

She’d moved her fingers, dark eyes peeking out at him.

“And you transformed today. You found a magical ring and a small flying cat, and you did what I said and you helped save the day.”

She moved her hands away from her face, sitting up. Plagg took his paws off her, floating up to stay at her eye level.

“I did,” she said, “didn’t I?”

Plagg nodded, glad she was making progress.

“You know,” he said, “you still need to think of a superhero name.”

“I do?”

“All the best heroes have one.” Plagg sat on her shoulder. “And you’re gonna be one of the greatest.”


	4. Ladybird & Tomcat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki and Plagg's holders during the time of the American Revolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My English teacher is awesome and we've just started analyzing Hamilton, so...

“C’mon, let’s help them out,” Tomcat said, gesturing to the troops gathered in the clearing.

Ladybird slapped his hand back. He was going to give them away if he wasn’t careful. He’d been nothing but insufferable this whole trip. From the name-- _ the name _ \--to the jokes and teasing, and sharing a cabin with him in the bottom of a boat. She straightened her long blue coat, made carefully to hide most of the red on her costume.

“We have miraculous to find,” she reminded him. She scanned the camp, searching for any sign of a kwami.

“They need the miraculous.”

“No, they don’t.”

“To win, they do. Don’t you want to see it? Democracy! Screw the king!”

“Well…” Ladybird had always been partial to the idea of democracy. And she was curious about this whole ‘new country’ thing. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of arguing, and nearing footsteps.

“Sir.” Two men had stepped away from the camp, one chasing after the other.

“Please, I need you to stay with your troop.”

Ladybird poked her head out of the bush, watching the two men.

“I know, but--”

“I don’t have time for this, Hamilton.” The man in a general’s uniform sat on a log.

The man, Hamilton, scoffed. “Ten? Really? I’d be better elsewhere, my mirage--”

“You are assigned to Redoubt Ten, and your mirage is  _ needed _ there.”

Tom’s green eyes glinted. A mirage. They’d found their fox.

“Redoubt Nine is the challenge, that’s where we need our efforts.” Hamilton was not letting this argument go.

“Redoubt Nine will have my shelter, we’ve been over this plan a million times.” The general stood. “I can’t have the others overhearing this conversation or getting suspicious. We’d best rejoin the group.”

Hamilton stayed put.

“Come with me. And for heaven’s sake, tuck that necklace into your shirt.”

The men stomped away, back to the chorus of English and French voices.

Tom grinned at her. “What d’you say, Birdie? Let them have their victory?”

Ladybird sighed. At least they’d found the miraculous. It was more progress than she’d been expecting mere hours into their spying. And really, what was one more day of waiting? “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay. We’ll let them keep the miraculous long enough to win, but we  _ won’t _ be helping them.”

“You’re the best, LB.”

She shrugged, unable to help her smile. “Screw the king.”

“Screw the king.”

Probably not the best sentiment to share when they were supposed to return to Britain once they retrieved the miraculous, but for now she was with the Americans.


	5. Jeanne d'Arc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I did research for this. But I couldn't find much information on the Siege of the Charite (people seem to care more about Jeanne's trial than anything else). Also, I tried omniscient third-person narrative, but I'm not sure how good it is.

“Are you okay?” Tikki asked, watching her holder take a long drink of water.

“I’m fine.”

Waiting was often the most effective way of getting someone to talk, Tikki had learned. It was no different with this girl. If she remained silent long enough…

“I can’t do it without him.” Jeanne sat on the ground. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You’re strong. You can do it.”

“It’s not about me. The miraculous, the balance of power. Your miraculous and Plagg’s are meant to be used together. I need to find a new holder.”

She was right. Tikki never liked when this happened; when a holder died or gave up their miraculous, leaving the other half to find a replacement. It was always hard. When the Order of the Guardians was first established, one of the only rules she and Plagg had insisted on was that an abandoned Ladybug or Black Cat got to choose the new holder.

“I don’t want to,” Jeanne admitted. “I don’t want a replacement.”

It’d started raining again. Jeanne was sick of the rain. And the mud, and the snow, and the half-frozen rain. She was sick of the siege--if it could even be called that. She was sick of failure and bad weather and not having her Black Cat with her.

In the distance, clock bells began to ring. Jeanne didn’t bother counting. There were a few hours left of Christmas. She should be celebrating, even in the midst of a month’s work ending with no success. Her troops were certainly celebrating, digging up whatever food they could find. Firelight danced across her tent’s walls, promising warmth if she stepped outside.

The men didn’t come to bother her with an invite. They assumed she had tucked herself away to pray, in thanks for Christmas, and for help with forthcoming assignments. Instead she was sitting here, crying over a box.

Tikki was still watching her. Jeanne picked up the box, turning it over in her hands. She placed it back inside the stocking she kept it in, then in the small pile of her clothes.

She had one other set of outerwear, which she found and hung over the poles of the tent. She stripped her muddy set, pulling on the cleaner ones. She’d wash those as soon as she could. She laced her boots back up, intending to at least sit and watch the festivities.

The chatter from outside hushed, only the cracking of firewood filling the air. She pushed aside the tent flaps as a low hum filled the air.

_"Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici; dévotes gens‚ rendons à Dieu merci"_

Tikki joined her, floating over Jeanne’s shoulder.

“We’ll make it work,” she said, “you’ll see.”

Jeanne smiled even though she didn’t quite believe her kwami. She stepped out of the tent, joining the singing.

_“Noël nouvelet! Noël chantons ici!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Christmas carol is Noel Novelet, or Christmas Comes Anew. It was the oldest one I could find, dated just a bit later than when the siege of the charite took place. The common English translation of the lyrics I used is "Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel! Glory to God! Now let your praises swell!" More directly, "A new Christmas, let us sing here of Christmas, the devoted people thank God."

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions for a time period you want to see, historical events, or names for the holders (I'm quickly running out), please comment them, and I'll try to write it!


End file.
